Propeller for vessels



June 1937- J. A. KIRKPATRICK 2,085,370

PROPELLER FOR VES SELS Filed Nov. 25, 1935 NEY I INVENTOR V Z0 m M 3215-5 U lgg a g ?atented June 29, E937 srarss @ATENT @FFEQE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to powered means for propelling vessels through the water.

It is an object of the invention to provide a propeller for vessels possessing less slip than the conventional screw propeller and consequently one which will conserve power and be capable of greater efficiency.

Another object of the invention is to provide a propeller which is capable of reversing the 110 direction or" travel of a vessel without being itself reversed in rotation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a propeller which is capable of maneuvering a vessel in any desired direction.

15, The invention possesses other objects and vaiuable features, some of which, together with the foregoing will be specifically set forth in the specification hereunto annexed. It is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the particular form thereof shown and described as various embodiments thereof may be employed Within the scope of the appended claims.

The broader aspects of the invention may be v readily seen upon reference to the drawing in which:

Figure l is a vertical sectional View, parts thereof being shown in elevation to more clearly disclose the construction of the propeller of my 30, invention, mounted on the bottom of the hull of a vessel.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, only the main elements of the latter View being duplicated, showing the positions of the component 35, parts of the propeller mechanism to effect a re versal of movement of the vessel.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken in a plane transverse to the plane in which Figures 1 and 2 are taken, as indicated by the line 3--3 40, of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a plan view of a vessel showing the application or" the propellers of my invention thereto.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the vessel shown in Figure 4.

Figures 6, 7, 8 and 9 are plan views of the inipeller blades.

i In detail, the propeller of my invention, generally indicated in the drawing by the numeral 50: 6, comprises a casing having a cylindrical wall '5, and end walls 8 which together provide a hollow chamber 9 within the casing. The Wall l is provided with an inlet aperture it opening into the chamber and an outlet aperture H also opening 5 into the chamber and positioned substantially diametrically opposite the inlet aperture. Each end wall, at the central axis or the casing, is provided with a tubular sleeve i2, extending outwardly therefrom, and these sleeves are jou. naled in bearings l3 provided at the lower ends 5 of hollow support arms it which are formed in tegrally with, and extend from, the hull l5 01 the vessel l5.

Rotatably disposed in the chamber 9 is a rotor ll, provided at each end with a stub shaft i8, journaled in the adjacent sleeve 52 of the casing, and with a plurality of spaced diametrical slots i9 extending therethrough; and slidably mounted in each slot is an impeller blade 29, details of which may be seen in Figures 6 to 9 inclusive. 1;;

The chamber 9, as will be seen in Figures 1 and 2, is so shaped that its periphery, at a position, adjacent the outlet aperture l i and between this aperture and the inlet aperture, conforms with, and is closely adjacent the periphery of the ro- 20 tor, and at positions immediately adjacent the inlet aperture, is spaced a considerable distance from the rotor periphery. The chamber is also so shaped that the ends of each blade 29, during rotation of the rotor, will be always in contact T with the chamber periphery. Thus, as the blades pass through the chamber, they will be fully extended, at one side of the rotor as they pass the inlet aperture and if the propeller 6 is submerged under water, it will be seen that the blades will draw water through the inlet aperture, force it through the chamber, and discharge it through the outlet aperture H. The course of this flow is shown by the direction arrows in the figures.

Means is provided for revolving the rotor. Referring to Figure 3, it will be seen the end of one of the stub shafts i2 carries a sprocket 2! which is connected, by means of a chain 22, with the sprocket 23 carried on the shaft or a prime mover which may be a steam engine 24 as illustrated. Energization of the engine will, through the drive just described, revolve the rotor H in the chamber 9.

Means is provided for directing the fluid discharged from the outlet opening either toward the stern of the craft, in order to urge the latter forward through the water, or toward the bow of the craft in order to procure a reversal of movement of the craft. As was stated above, the casing '5' is journaled, by means of the sleeves I2 in the support arm bearings i3, and as will be seen in Figure 3, the casing sleeve, at the end of the casing opposite that adjacent the rotor drive mechanism, is secured to a bevel gear 25. A pinion 26 meshes with the gear 25 and the former is secured to a shaft 21 which passes upwardly, within the support arm and is connected, at its upper end, through gearing 28, with suitable operating means which may be either power driven or manually operated by the handwheel 29 as shown.

In Figure 1, the position of the casing is such that the fluid discharged through the outlet opening 1 I, as indicated by the direction arrows, will be directed toward the stern of the craft, thereby causing forward movement of the craft through the water. By revolving the handwheel 29, in the proper direction, the casing may be made to revolve, upon the axis thereof coincident with the rotational axis of the rotor, to position the outlet opening I l substantially 180 degrees from its first position, as shown in Figure 1, whereupon the fluid discharged from the opening will be directed as indicated by the arrows of Figure 2, toward the bow of the craft and consequently a reversal of movement of the craft through the water will be obtained. It will be noted that the direction of rotation of the rotor H has not been altered to effect this reversal of movement of the vessel, it being only necessary to rotate the casing so that the direction of flow of fluid therethrough will be opposed to the direction in which it is desired to move the vessel. Since no stoppage and reversal of the engine is required, to reverse the movement of the vessel, it will be seen that the latter may be accomplished more rapidly than was here tofore possible. In addition, by positioning the discharge opening I I at any position to direct the fluid flow from a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the vessel to a direction parallel therewith, any degree of force tending to drive the vessel may be obtained.

In Figures 4 and 5 I have. shown the application of the propeller of my invention to a vessel. Where the vessel is intended for deep water sailing, the propellers 6 may be positioned as shown in Figure 5, along the keel of the vessel and on the sides of the hull below the water line. If, however, the vessel is to be used in shallow water, such as lakes or rivers, it is desirable to dispense with the keel propellers shown in Figure 5 and equip the vessel only with the horizontally positioned units shown in Figure 4. This is obviously done so as not to increase the draft of the vessel.

Apoint which should be particularly noted, is that the impeller blades 20 extend entirely through the rotor II, the ends of the former being in contact with the surface of the chamber 9 which is so shaped, as was mentioned above, that the blades will be positively moved transversely of the rotor during rotation thereof. This eliminates the use of springs or compensating linkages which are likely to get out of order and incapacitate the vessel since. they are inaccessible for repair without drydocking the vessel. 1

Still another valuable feature which the propellers of my invention make possible may be seen upon reference to Figure 4. Since, as was pointed out above, and as is shown by the radialarrows 30 of the figure, the flow of fluid, from the discharge opening of each propeller, may be pointed in any direction between a plane transverse with the central axis of the vessel to a plane parallel therewith, it is possible to not only efiect forward and reverse movement of the vessel, but also lateral movement thereof. This renders the vessel capable of executing intricate maneuvers which are particularly useful in docking the vessel or as safety features by means of which collis'ions in fog can more readily be avoided.

From the foregoing description of my invention it will be seen that I have provided an improved propeller for vessels which is practically devoid of slip due to the positive action of the impeller blades in creating the water currents. It will also be seen that no increase of power is necessary, per propeller, over that now used to drive a propeller capable of creating a water current of like volume; that I have provided a propeller which is capable of causing movement of the vessel in any desired direction, thereby rendering the control of the vessel exceedingly flexible; and that I have provided a propeller of such simple construction that the expense necessary to maintain it in operating condition is reduced 'to an absolute minimum.

What is claimed is: V

1. In a vessel, a pair of spaced arms extending from a submerged portion of the hull thereof, said arms having vertically alined journals thereon, a casing having a hollow chamber therein supported in said journals for rotary movement about an axis normal to the surface of the water, said chamber being provided with an inlet port and a discharge port, a rotor rotatably mounted in said chamber, a plurality of vanes slidably mounted in said rotor and extending diametrically therethrough with the ends of said vanes in contact with the wall of said chamber, means connected with said rotor within one of said arms for rotating said rotor within said chamber to move said vanes past said inlet aperture to draw water through said aperture, force said water through said chamber, and discharge said water through said discharge port away from said vessel to drive the latter through the water, and means connected with said casing within said other arm for rotating said casing to direct the water issuing from said discharge port in a selected direction radially from said axis.

2. A propeller for a vessel, adapted to be mounted on a submerged portion of the hull thereof, comprising a pair of arms secured in spaced relation on said hull, a hollow casing mounted on said arms for rotary movement about an axis normal to the surface of the water and having therein a chamber provided with an inlet port and a discharge port, a rotor rotatably mounted in said chamber, a plurality of vanes slidably mounted'in said rotor and extending diametrically therethrough with the ends of said vanes in contact with the wall of said chamber, a prime mover, a chain connecting said prime mover with said rotor through one of said arms for rotating said rotor within said chamber to move said vanes past said inlet aperture to draw water through said chamber, and discharge said water through said discharge port away from said vessel to drive the latter through the water and means passing through said other arm for rotating said casing to selectively position said discharge port thereof to direct the water issuing from said discharge port radially from the rotational axis of said casing.

3. A propeller for a vessel, adapted to be mounted on a submerged portion of the hull thereof, comprising a casing mounted on said hull for rotary movement about an axis normal to the surface of the water, said casing having a cham-' ber therein provided with an inlet port and an outlet port, said chamber having peripheral portions concentric on different radii with the axis of rotation of said casing and other peripheral portions curved to join the adjacent edges of said concentric portions, a rotor journaled in said casing and disposed within the chamber thereof, said rotor being axially alined with the axis of rotation of said casing and having its periphery in tangent relationship with one of said concentric peripheral portions of said chamber, a plurality of vanes passing diametrically through said rotor and contacting, at their respective ends, opposed portions of the periphery of said chamber, means for rotating said rotor Within said chamber, and means for rotatably moving said casing.

JESSE A. KIRKPATRICK. 

